SparkNotes: The Tempest: Plot Overview Plot Overview Context Character List A storm strikes a ship carrying Alonso, Ferdinand, Sebastian, Antonio, Gonzalo, Stephano, and Trinculo, who are on their way to Italy after coming from the wedding of Alonso’s daughter, Claribel, to the prince of Tunis in Africa. The royal party and the other mariners, with the exception of the unflappable Boatswain, begin to fear for their lives. Lightning cracks, and the mariners cry that the ship has been hit. Everyone prepares to sink. The next scene begins much more quietly. Miranda and Prospero stand on the shore of their island, looking out to sea at the recent shipwreck. Miranda asks her father to do anything he can to help the poor souls in the ship. Prospero assures her that everything is all right and then informs her that it is time she learned more about herself and her past. He reveals to her that he orchestrated the shipwreck and tells her the lengthy story of her past, a story he has often started to tell her before but never finished.

The story goes that Prospero was the Duke of Milan until his brother Antonio, conspiring with Alonso, the King of Naples, usurped his position. Kidnapped and left to die on a raft at sea, Prospero and his daughter survive because Gonzalo leaves them supplies and Prospero’s books, which are the source of his magic and power. Prospero and his daughter arrived on the island where they remain now and have been for twelve years. Only now, Prospero says, has Fortune at last sent his enemies his way, and he has raised the tempest in order to make things right with them once and for all. After telling this story, Prospero charms Miranda to sleep and then calls forth his familiar spirit Ariel, his chief magical agent. Prospero and Ariel’s discussion reveals that Ariel brought the tempest upon the ship and set fire to the mast. He then made sure that everyone got safely to the island, though they are now separated from each other into small groups. Ariel, who is a captive servant to Prospero, reminds his master that he has promised Ariel freedom a year early if he performs tasks such as these without complaint.

Prospero chastises Ariel for protesting and reminds him of the horrible fate from which he was rescued. Before Prospero came to the island, a witch named Sycorax imprisoned Ariel in a tree. Sycorax died, leaving Ariel trapped until Prospero arrived and freed him. After Ariel assures Prospero that he knows his place, Prospero orders Ariel to take the shape of a sea nymph and make himself invisible to all but Prospero. Miranda awakens from her sleep, and she and Prospero go to visit Caliban, Prospero’s servant and the son of the dead Sycorax. Caliban curses Prospero, and Prospero and Miranda berate him for being ungrateful for what they have given and taught him. Prospero sends Caliban to fetch firewood. Ariel, invisible, enters playing music and leading in the awed Ferdinand. Miranda and Ferdinand are immediately smitten with each other. He is the only man Miranda has ever seen, besides Caliban and her father. Prospero is happy to see that his plan for his daughter’s future marriage is working, but decides that he must upset things temporarily in order to prevent their relationship from developing too quickly.

He accuses Ferdinand of merely pretending to be the Prince of Naples and threatens him with imprisonment. When Ferdinand draws his sword, Prospero charms him and leads him off to prison, ignoring Miranda’s cries for mercy. He then sends Ariel on another mysterious mission. On another part of the island, Alonso, Sebastian, Antonio, Gonzalo, and other miscellaneous lords give thanks for their safety but worry about the fate of Ferdinand. Alonso says that he wishes he never had married his daughter to the prince of Tunis because if he had not made this journey, his son would still be alive. Gonzalo tries to maintain high spirits by discussing the beauty of the island, but his remarks are undercut by the sarcastic sourness of Antonio and Sebastian. Ariel appears, invisible, and plays music that puts all but Sebastian and Antonio to sleep. These two then begin to discuss the possible advantages of killing their sleeping companions. Antonio persuades Sebastian that the latter will become ruler of Naples if they kill Alonso. Claribel, who would be the next heir if Ferdinand were indeed dead, is too far away to be able to claim her right. Sebastian is convinced, and the two are about to stab the sleeping men when Ariel causes Gonzalo to wake with a shout.

Everyone wakes up, and Antonio and Sebastian concoct a ridiculous story about having drawn their swords to protect the king from lions. Ariel goes back to Prospero while Alonso and his party continue to search for Ferdinand. Caliban, meanwhile, is hauling wood for Prospero when he sees Trinculo and thinks he is a spirit sent by Prospero to torment him. He lies down and hides under his cloak. A storm is brewing, and Trinculo, curious about but undeterred by Caliban’s strange appearance and smell, crawls under the cloak with him. Stephano, drunk and singing, comes along and stumbles upon the bizarre spectacle of Caliban and Trinculo huddled under the cloak. Caliban, hearing the singing, cries out that he will work faster so long as the “spirits” leave him alone. Stephano decides that this monster requires liquor and attempts to get Caliban to drink. Trinculo recognizes his friend Stephano and calls out to him. Soon the three are sitting up together and drinking. Caliban quickly becomes an enthusiastic drinker, and begins to sing. Prospero puts Ferdinand to work hauling wood. Ferdinand finds his labor pleasant because it is for Miranda’s sake.

Miranda, thinking that her father is asleep, tells Ferdinand to take a break. The two flirt with one another. Miranda proposes marriage, and Ferdinand accepts. Prospero has been on stage most of the time, unseen, and he is pleased with this development. Stephano, Trinculo, and Caliban are now drunk and raucous and are made all the more so by Ariel, who comes to them invisibly and provokes them to fight with one another by impersonating their voices and taunting them. Caliban grows more and more fervent in his boasts that he knows how to kill Prospero. He even tells Stephano that he can bring him to where Prospero is sleeping. He proposes that they kill Prospero, take his daughter, and set Stephano up as king of the island. Stephano thinks this a good plan, and the three prepare to set off to find Prospero. They are distracted, however, by the sound of music that Ariel plays on his flute and tabor-drum, and they decide to follow this music before executing their plot. Alonso, Gonzalo, Sebastian, and Antonio grow weary from traveling and pause to rest.

Antonio and Sebastian secretly plot to take advantage of Alonso and Gonzalo’s exhaustion, deciding to kill them in the evening. Prospero, probably on the balcony of the stage and invisible to the men, causes a banquet to be set out by strangely shaped spirits. As the men prepare to eat, Ariel appears like a harpy and causes the banquet to vanish. He then accuses the men of supplanting Prospero and says that it was for this sin that Alonso’s son, Ferdinand, has been taken. He vanishes, leaving Alonso feeling vexed and guilty. Prospero now softens toward Ferdinand and welcomes him into his family as the soon-to-be-husband of Miranda. He sternly reminds Ferdinand, however, that Miranda’s “virgin-knot” (IV.i.15) is not to be broken until the wedding has been officially solemnized. Prospero then asks Ariel to call forth some spirits to perform a masque for Ferdinand and Miranda. The spirits assume the shapes of Ceres, Juno, and Iris and perform a short masque celebrating the rites of marriage and the bounty of the earth.

A dance of reapers and nymphs follows but is interrupted when Prospero suddenly remembers that he still must stop the plot against his life. He sends the spirits away and asks Ariel about Trinculo, Stephano, and Caliban. Ariel tells his master of the three men’s drunken plans. He also tells how he led the men with his music through prickly grass and briars and finally into a filthy pond near Prospero’s cell. Ariel and Prospero then set a trap by hanging beautiful clothing in Prospero’s cell. Stephano, Trinculo, and Caliban enter looking for Prospero and, finding the beautiful clothing, decide to steal it. They are immediately set upon by a pack of spirits in the shape of dogs and hounds, driven on by Prospero and Ariel. Prospero uses Ariel to bring Alonso and the others before him. He then sends Ariel to bring the Boatswain and the mariners from where they sleep on the wrecked ship. Prospero confronts Alonso, Antonio, and Sebastian with their treachery, but tells them that he forgives them. Alonso tells him of having lost Ferdinand in the tempest and Prospero says that he recently lost his own daughter.

Clarifying his meaning, he draws aside a curtain to reveal Ferdinand and Miranda playing chess. Alonso and his companions are amazed by the miracle of Ferdinand’s survival, and Miranda is stunned by the sight of people unlike any she has seen before. Ferdinand tells his father about his marriage. Ariel returns with the Boatswain and mariners. The Boatswain tells a story of having been awakened from a sleep that had apparently lasted since the tempest. At Prospero’s bidding, Ariel releases Caliban, Trinculo and Stephano, who then enter wearing their stolen clothing. Prospero and Alonso command them to return it and to clean up Prospero’s cell. Prospero invites Alonso and the others to stay for the night so that he can tell them the tale of his life in the past twelve years. After this, the group plans to return to Italy. Prospero, restored to his dukedom, will retire to Milan. Prospero gives Ariel one final task—to make sure the seas are calm for the return voyage—before setting him free. Finally, Prospero delivers an epilogue to the audience, asking them to forgive him for his wrongdoing and set him free by applauding.

More Help Shakespeare’s The Tempest - Crisis Magazine Crisis Magazine A Voice for the Faithful Catholic Laity Subscribe Mitchell Kalpakgian Magic (art) is a part of daily life. Whenever parents raise children, teachers educate students, or rulers govern societies, they require the knowledge of the arts that teach these skills. They become magicians or artists by the masterpieces of their craft that evoke wonder and admiration for the beauty, goodness, or perfection their handiwork achieves. Man as magician who sees how to bring out the image of God in human beings, how to lead the mind to the discovery of truth, and how to bring civilization out of chaos imitates God’s creative activity in the world that brings light out of darkness and good out of evil. Prospero, the magician in The Tempest, plays many parts in the drama that demonstrate these arts. He refines and educates Miranda, the beautiful daughter that Ferdinand beholds as love’s contemplative. Prospero, overthrown as the duke of Milan by his usurping brother, survives on a barbaric island that he transforms into a lush paradise that astonishes upon first sight.

Prospero, a master or teacher who studies the liberal arts, improves his two apprentices or servants, the invisible spirit Ariel and the primitive savage Caliban, son of a witch. As a magician whose art derives from his knowledge of the liberal arts and the books he cherishes, Prospero produces glorious miracles, beautiful works of art–not the sorcery of black magic to do evil used by the witch Sycorax in the play. While black magic—whether in the form of alchemy, astrology, or temptation—deceives with half-truths and riddles that lure a person with false promises, white magic is the art of bringing out the potential that inheres in nature, seeing the form in matter, and creating masterpieces from the “givenness” of things. The art of Prospero’s magic resembles God’s work in the world as he “plays” God in The Tempest, that is, imitates God in the way an actor plays a part and assumes a role.

With his vestments and wand Prospero performs his magic like an actor on the stage and then retires after the performance: “Our revels now are ended.” Prospero’s first work of art on the island where he narrowly escapes from drowning on the sea is the release of Ariel from the tree where he has been impaled by the witch. Prospero sees the form of Ariel in the matter of the tree just as Michelangelo announced that he saw a David in the hunk of rock. Prospero’s knowledge sees the spirit camouflaged in the tree, and his art frees Ariel’s potential, his great creative energy. Another of Prospero’s masterpieces is his daughter Miranda whose name means miraculous (“she who ought to be wondered at”) and derives from the Latin miror (I am amazed). The epitome of purity, goodness, and beauty, Miranda implores her father to stop the tempest and spare the lives of the shipwrecked crew. Sensitive to human suffering and grateful for kindness, she wishes she might personally thank Gonzalo for saving their lives–for providing Prospero with books and rations in his desperate escape from Milan in a boat when besieged by enemies (“Would I might/ But ever see that man”).

A beautiful soul and a lovely woman, Miranda moves Ferdinand to rapt contemplation: “Admired Miranda! / Indeed the top of admiration!”). Educated and civilized with manners and morals by her father, Miranda radiates the divine image of man that Prospero’s art has fashioned. As the ruler of an island Prospero uses the same magic, finding a primitive island ruled by diabolical forces and transforming it into a civilized society governed by the light of reason and justice. The island “prospers” under Prospero’s government that brings the rule of law out of the barbarism of witchcraft and creates abundance out of scarcity. Like a philosopher-king who contemplates the ideal of justice and then governs according to this vision, Prospero renders decisions that temper justice with mercy and never resorts to revenge: “The rarer action is/ In virtue than in vengeance.” The conspirators who usurped his kingdom and put him adrift in a boat to perish are subjected to the fury of the tempest and his righteous anger but never harmed or killed.

When first discovering the island after the tragedy of shipwreck, Gonzalo marvels at being alive: “But for the miracle–/ I mean our preservation—few in millions/ Can speak like us.” He is amazed at the lushness of the grass, the sweetness of the air, and the transfigured whiteness of their garments. Prospero’s magic this time brings good out evil just as he released Ariel from the tree and educed the divine image from Miranda’s human nature. Prospero uses magic in his role as master or teacher of his two servants, Ariel and Caliban, whose natures vary as greatly as air and earth. Freed from the tree, Ariel travels all over the island utilizing earth, air, fire, and water to follow Prospero’s orders to cause a storm and lead all the members of the ship safely to land. Prospero does not grant Ariel freedom from his service until the spirit perfectly follows Prospero’s exact instructions and tends to every detail of the magician’s work of art—rewarding or punishing everyone according to his just deserts and perfectly balancing justice and mercy.

The master curbs the apprentice’s undisciplined energy and demands obedience and excellence in finishing the work of art he is perfecting on the island. Likewise, Prospero punishes and disciplines the willful Caliban whose uncontrollable urges reduce him to savage or animal until Prospero refines him by teaching him speech and taming his wildness. As the magician-teacher, Prospero uses the art of checking the impulsive, whimsical Ariel and rousing the slothful, plodding Caliban. He brings out Ariel’s excellence and improves Caliban by respecting their God-given natures and seeing the possibilities they possess. Prospero’s white magic, then, is art, the art of parenting, ruling, teaching, and creating—the art of releasing potential, eliciting the best and highest in human nature, awakening the latent powers that inhere in nature, and fashioning works of art and masterpieces that evoke wonder and contemplation. In this way Prospero imitates or “plays” God who brings light out of darkness, good out of evil, and comedy out of tragedy.

Prospero’s love of justice, mercy, beauty, and human wisdom all reflect the attributes of God who is all-good, all-merciful, all-beautiful, and all-knowing. Editor’s note: The image above is an engraving by James Heath, Engraver to his Majesty and his RH the Prince of Wales, after a painting by Thomas Stothard. This print of a scene from the Tempest was published in August 1803. The Tempest Characters | GradeSaver Buy Study Guide Prospero The rightful Duke of Milan, though his kingdom and title were usurped by his brother Antonio. Prospero was able to survive a plot on his life, and he and his daughter Miranda were set aboard a wrecked craft, but managed to land safely on the island. Prospero is able to gain control of the spirits of the island, and uses his vast knowledge and control over the spirits to direct acts of magic as he pleases. He is ruler of the island, after taking control of it from its rightful heir, Caliban, and he makes sure that Alonso's ship wrecks on the island, so he can get his revenge on his brothers for their wrongdoing.

Alonso, King of Naples Was involved in a plot to overthrow Prospero, and gave Prospero's dukedom to Antonio. Has a son, Ferdinand, who is also heir to the kingdom. Alonso may have been corrupt in his dealings with his brothers, but he does not prove to be an evil-natured man; he is a flawed politician, but is a highly regarded king and is not a villain. Sebastian Brother to Alonso, Sebastian is easily infected by a plot for the crown made by Antonio, and impressed upon him by the magic of the spirit Ariel. He is also not evil, but has a flawed nature. Antonio Usurped the dukedom of Milan from his brother Prospero, while Prospero was absorbed in study. Antonio is probably the least scrupulous character in the play, and he is the originator of another plot to take the throne from Alonso through more murdersthough this plot is engineered by Prospero, and made possible by Ariel's magical powers. He is typically sarcastic and remote, and unrepentant of his crimes. Miranda Prospero's only daughter, and so young that she cannot remember anyone she knew before she came to the island.

She is intelligent and headstrong, having learned a lot from her father; but, when under Ariel's enchantment, she follows her father's plan, and falls in love with Ferdinand willingly. She and Ferdinand end up together, bound by their mutual infatuation. Ferdinand Alonso's son, and heir to the kingdom of Naples. Prospero arranges, through his magic, for Ferdinand to fall in love with Prospero's daughter, Miranda; Prospero's plot to have Miranda and Ferdinand married is his key to reclaiming his power in Italy. For the brief span of the play, Ferdinand is completely lovelorn and presumed dead by his father because they are separated during the shipwreck; out of his infatuation with Miranda, he agrees to become Prospero's servant for a span. Prospero finally declares him worthy, and the engagement is at last approved by both Prospero and Alonso. Ariel A spirit of the island, over whom Prospero becomes master after ousting Sycorax. He is the source of Prospero's magical powers, causing the tempest and many of the conspiracies in the play, and works for Prospero somewhat against his will.

He is an intelligent, capable servant, and is finally freed by Prospero for his devoted service. Gonzalo The councilor to the king, and an honest man as well; he is the one who helps Prospero and Miranda survive Antonio's plot to have them murdered. Gonzalo is optimistic, good-tempered, and loyal; he is one of the unquestionably good characters in the play, with no apparent dark side in him. Adrian and Francisco Noblemen, and companions of Alonso who are shipwrecked with the rest. Adrian tries his best to console Alonso when Alonso believes that his son is dead; and Francisco also tries to be helpful to the king. Neither play a very important role within the play, but they do appear to be good-tempered men, and Adrian at least is taunted by the very sarcastic pair of Antonio and Sebastian. Caliban A native of the island on which Prospero lands, and the one from whom Prospero steals control of the island. He becomes Prospero's only subject, doing all of his dirty work; Caliban tries to rape Miranda, and is shunned by both Miranda and Prospero because of this.

All who encounter Caliban regard him as sub-human, or reprehensible, because of his different looks and strange ways. However, Caliban has a capacity for poetry and understanding beauty, as shown by a speech in Act III, which is one of the most poetic, beautiful, and descriptive of the play. Gonzalo is the only one within the play who even tries to evaluate Caliban and his kind fairly; the others, blinded by prejudice, mistreat him to various extents. Trinculo A consistently drunken jester, who is a servant of Alonso's, and brought ashore in the shipwreck. He is a dull fool mostly, not capable of any real action, and providing a good deal of comic relief. When Caliban meets him, he immediately dislikes him and his inebriated insults; but, Trinculo does become a part of Caliban's plan to murder Prospero and take over the island, though Trinculo proves completely ineffective in this. Stephano Trinculo's friend, a consistently drunken butler. He is jolly, inebriated, and somehow Caliban takes him on as a new master, thinking that he has some magical powers.

He agrees to Caliban's plot to make him ruler of the island, and gain him the favors of Miranda. However, like Trinculo, he is not cunning, and is completely incapable of carrying out the plan. Master of a Ship, Mariners Appear only in Act 1, scene 1. The master tries to hearten the sailors, and get them to sail the boat through the storm; but, one of Ariel's spells makes them lose heart and abandon ship. They are whisked safely away, and will take the party back to Italy at the play's end. Boatswain Right hand to the ship master, in control of the workings of the ship. Antonio and Sebastian try their best to pick a fight with him in the first act, and basically keep him from doing his job. The boatswain reappears in the last act, and tells about what happened to the ship's crew after the tempest. Iris, Ceres, Juno, Nymphs, Reapers Figures that appear in Prospero's betrothal masque for Miranda and Ferdinand in Act IV.

Iris, Ceres, and Juno are goddesses from Roman myth; Iris is goddess of the rainbow, Ceres presides over agriculture, and Juno is queen of the gods. The parts are all performed by spirits, with Ariel performing the part of Ceres. The Tempest Characters - eNotes.com The Tempest Characters The Tempest Characters The Tempest key characters: In The Tempest, Prospero, the former and rightful duke of Milan, practices magic and has been living on an island after his dukedom was usurped by his brother Antonio. Miranda is Prospero’s daughter who falls in love with Ferdinand. Ferdinand is the son of King Alonso; he must submit to a series of tests before Prospero allows him to marry Miranda. Alonso is the king of Naples who helped Antonio usurp Prospero’s dukedom. Alonso is so distressed by the thought of losing his son in the tempest that he repents his evil deeds and is forgiven by Prospero. Antonio is Prospero’s brother. He has maliciously usurped Prospero’s dukedom but is forgiven in the end. link Link Prospero—the rightful Duke of Milan whose dukedom has been usurped by his brother Antonio.

Prospero controls the island and its inhabitants with a God-like power. Miranda—Prospero’s fifteen-year-old daughter who has been living with him on the island since their banishment from Milan when she was only three years old. Her father and Caliban are the only humans she remembers. When she meets Ferdinand, she falls in love with him almost immediately and innocently ffers herself to him as his wife. Ferdinand—He is the son of Alonso, King of Naples. Though he is a man of royal blood, he must endure the dishonor of carrying logs for Prospero as a trial of his love for Miranda. Ariel—an airy spirit who has suffered a twelve-year imprisonment in a “cloven pine” for refusing the “earthy and abhorr’d commands” of the evil witch, Sycorax. Prospero releases Ariel, only to subject him to further servitude. With the aid of Prospero, Ariel conjures up the tempest and performs other acts of magic throughout the play. Prospero finally gives him his freedom at the end. Caliban—Prospero refers to him as a “born devil” whose mother was the evil witch, Sycorax.

He is a deformed monster whose bestial nature cannot be changed, though he has been taught to speak a language. Paradoxically, Caliban usually speaks in verse and is given some of the most poetic lines in the play. Alonso—Ferdinand’s father,... (The entire section is 541 words.) Get Free Access Start your free trial with eNotes for complete access to this resource and thousands more. 30,000+ Study Guides Save time with thousands of teacher-approved book and topic summaries. Get Homework Help Ask real teachers questions on any subject or search 300,000+ answers. On the Go Access Are you a teacher or educator? Find out about our Teacher’s Edition . More Content: Characters (hide) link Link Prospero Prospero (PROS-peh-roh), the former and rightful duke of Milan, now living on an island in the distant seas. Years earlier, he had been deposed by his treacherous younger brother, Antonio, to whom he had given too much power, for Prospero had always been more interested in his books of philosophy and magic than in affairs of state.

Antonio had the aid of Alonso, the equally treacherous king of Naples, in his plot against his brother, and the conspirators had set Prospero and his infant daughter, Miranda, adrift in a small boat. They were saved from certain death by the faithful Gonzalo, who provided the boat with food and Prospero’s books. Eventually, the craft drifted to an island that formerly had been the domain of the witch Sycorax, whose son, the monster Caliban, still lived there. Through the power of his magic, Prospero subdued Caliban and freed certain good spirits, particularly Ariel, whom Sycorax had imprisoned. Now, in a terrible storm, the ship carrying the treacherous king of Naples, his son Ferdinand, and Antonio is wrecked. They, with their companions, are brought ashore by Ariel. Using Ariel as an instrument, Prospero frustrates the plots of Antonio and Sebastian against the king and of Caliban, Trinculo, and Stephano against himself. He also furthers the romance between Miranda and Ferdinand.

Convinced at last that Antonio and Alonso have repented of the wrongs they had done him, Prospero has them brought to his cell, where he reveals his identity and reclaims his dukedom. At the end of the story, he has the satisfaction of releasing Ariel, abandoning his magic, and returning to Milan for the marriage of Miranda and Ferdinand. In the figure of Prospero, some readers have found William Shakespeare’s self-portrait; in Prospero’s burying of his books on magic, they have found a symbol of Shakespeare’s renunciation of the stage. Miranda Miranda (mih-RAN-duh), Prospero’s daughter, brought up on the island where her aged father is the only man she has ever seen. She falls instantly in love with Ferdinand. At the end of the play, they are to be married. The character of Miranda often has been taken as the depiction of complete innocence, untouched by the corruption of sophisticated life. Ferdinand Ferdinand (FUR-dih-nand), the prince of Naples and son of King Alonso. Separated from his father when they reach the island, he is captured by Prospero, who, to test him, puts him at menial tasks.

He falls in love with Miranda and she with him. Prospero finally permits their marriage. Alonso Alonso (uh-LON-zoh), the king of Naples and father of Ferdinand. He aided the treacherous Antonio in deposing Prospero. When the castaways reach Prospero’s island, Alonso is so grief-stricken by the supposed loss of his son that he repents of his wickedness and is forgiven by Prospero. Antonio Antonio (an-TOH-nee-oh), Prospero’s treacherous brother, who has usurped the dukedom of Milan. He is finally forgiven for his crime. Sebastian Sebastian (seh-BAS-tyuhn), Alonso’s brother. On the island, he plots with Antonio to usurp the throne of Naples. Prospero discovers and frustrates the plot. Gonzalo Gonzalo (gon-ZAH-loh), a faithful courtier who had saved the lives of Prospero and Miranda. Ariel Ariel (AY-ree-ehl), a spirit imprisoned by Sycorax and released by Prospero, whom he serves faithfully. At the conclusion of the play, having carried out all of Prospero’s commands, he is given complete freedom.

Caliban Caliban (KAL-ih-ban), the monstrous son of Sycorax, now a servant of Prospero. He represents brute force without intelligence and can be held in check only by Prospero’s magic. Some have seen in him Shakespeare’s conception of “natural man.” Stephano Stephano (STEHF-ah-noh), a drunken butler who plots with Caliban and Trinculo against Prospero and is foiled by Ariel. Trinculo SparkNotes: The Tempest: Analysis of Major Characters Analysis of Major Characters Themes, Motifs & Symbols Prospero Prospero is one of Shakespeare’s more enigmatic protagonists. He is a sympathetic character in that he was wronged by his usurping brother, but his absolute power over the other characters and his overwrought speeches make him difficult to like. In our first glimpse of him, he appears puffed up and self-important, and his repeated insistence that Miranda pay attention suggest that his story is boring her. Once Prospero moves on to a subject other than his absorption in the pursuit of knowledge, Miranda’s attention is riveted. The pursuit of knowledge gets Prospero into trouble in the first place.

By neglecting everyday matters when he was duke, he gave his brother a chance to rise up against him. His possession and use of magical knowledge renders him extremely powerful and not entirely sympathetic. His punishments of Caliban are petty and vindictive, as he calls upon his spirits to pinch Caliban when he curses. He is defensively autocratic with Ariel. For example, when Ariel reminds his master of his promise to relieve him of his duties early if he performs them willingly, Prospero bursts into fury and threatens to return him to his former imprisonment and torment. He is similarly unpleasant in his treatment of Ferdinand, leading him to his daughter and then imprisoning and enslaving him. Despite his shortcomings as a man, however, Prospero is central to The Tempest’s narrative. Prospero generates the plot of the play almost single-handedly, as his various schemes, spells, and manipulations all work as part of his grand design to achieve the play’s happy ending. Watching Prospero work through The Tempest is like watching a dramatist create a play, building a story from material at hand and developing his plot so that the resolution brings the world into line with his idea of goodness and justice.

Many critics and readers of the play have interpreted Prospero as a surrogate for Shakespeare, enabling the audience to explore firsthand the ambiguities and ultimate wonder of the creative endeavor. Prospero’s final speech, in which he likens himself to a playwright by asking the audience for applause, strengthens this reading of the play, and makes the play’s final scene function as a moving celebration of creativity, humanity, and art. Prospero emerges as a more likable and sympathetic figure in the final two acts of the play. In these acts, his love for Miranda, his forgiveness of his enemies, and the legitimately happy ending his scheme creates all work to mitigate some of the undesirable means he has used to achieve his happy ending. If Prospero sometimes seems autocratic, he ultimately manages to persuade the audience to share his understanding of the world—an achievement that is, after all, the final goal of every author and every play. Miranda Just under fifteen years old, Miranda is a gentle and compassionate, but also relatively passive, heroine. From her very first lines she displays a meek and emotional nature.

“O, I have suffered / With those that I saw suffer!” she says of the shipwreck (I.ii.5–6), and hearing Prospero’s tale of their narrow escape from Milan, she says “I, not rememb’ring how I cried out then, / Will cry it o’er again” (I.ii.133–134). Miranda does not choose her own husband. Instead, while she sleeps, Prospero sends Ariel to fetch Ferdinand, and arranges things so that the two will come to love one another. After Prospero has given the lovers his blessing, he and Ferdinand talk with surprising frankness about her virginity and the pleasures of the marriage bed while she stands quietly by. Prospero tells Ferdinand to be sure not to “break her virgin-knot” before the wedding night (IV.i.15), and Ferdinand replies with no small anticipation that lust shall never take away “the edge of that day’s celebration” (IV.i.29). In the play’s final scene, Miranda is presented, with Ferdinand, almost as a prop or piece of the scenery as Prospero draws aside a curtain to reveal the pair playing chess.

But while Miranda is passive in many ways, she has at least two moments of surprising forthrightness and strength that complicate the reader’s impressions of her as a naïve young girl. The first such moment is in Act I, scene ii, in which she and Prospero converse with Caliban. Prospero alludes to the fact that Caliban once tried to rape Miranda. When Caliban rudely agrees that he intended to violate her, Miranda responds with impressive vehemence, clearly appalled at Caliban’s light attitude toward his attempted rape. She goes on to scold him for being ungrateful for her attempts to educate him: “When thou didst not, savage, / Know thine own meaning, but wouldst gabble like / A thing most brutish, I endowed thy purposes / With words that made them known” (358–361). These lines are so surprising coming from the mouth of Miranda that many editors have amended the text and given it to Prospero. This reattribution seems to give Miranda too little credit.

In Act III, scene i comes the second surprising moment—Miranda’s marriage proposal to Ferdinand: “I am your wife, if you will marry me; / If not, I’ll die your maid” (III.i.83–84). Her proposal comes shortly after Miranda has told herself to remember her “father’s precepts” (III.i.58) forbidding conversation with Ferdinand. As the reader can see in her speech to Caliban in Act I, scene ii, Miranda is willing to speak up for herself about her sexuality. Caliban Prospero’s dark, earthy slave, frequently referred to as a monster by the other characters, Caliban is the son of a witch-hag and the only real native of the island to appear in the play. He is an extremely complex figure, and he mirrors or parodies several other characters in the play. In his first speech to Prospero, Caliban insists that Prospero stole the island from him. Through this speech, Caliban suggests that his situation is much the same as Prospero’s, whose brother usurped his dukedom. On the other hand, Caliban’s desire for sovereignty of the island mirrors the lust for power that led Antonio to overthrow Prospero.

Caliban’s conspiracy with Stephano and Trinculo to murder Prospero mirrors Antonio and Sebastian’s plot against Alonso, as well as Antonio and Alonso’s original conspiracy against Prospero. Caliban both mirrors and contrasts with Prospero’s other servant, Ariel. While Ariel is “an airy spirit,” Caliban is of the earth, his speeches turning to “springs, brine pits” (I.ii.341), “bogs, fens, flats” (II.ii.2), or crabapples and pignuts (II.ii.159–160). While Ariel maintains his dignity and his freedom by serving Prospero willingly, Caliban achieves a different kind of dignity by refusing, if only sporadically, to bow before Prospero’s intimidation. Surprisingly, Caliban also mirrors and contrasts with Ferdinand in certain ways. In Act II, scene ii Caliban enters “with a burden of wood,” and Ferdinand enters in Act III, scene i “bearing a log.” Both Caliban and Ferdinand profess an interest in untying Miranda’s “virgin knot.” Ferdinand plans to marry her, while Caliban has attempted to rape her.

The glorified, romantic, almost ethereal love of Ferdinand for Miranda starkly contrasts with Caliban’s desire to impregnate Miranda and people the island with Calibans. Finally, and most tragically, Caliban becomes a parody of himself. In his first speech to Prospero, he regretfully reminds the magician of how he showed him all the ins and outs of the island when Prospero first arrived. Only a few scenes later, however, we see Caliban drunk and fawning before a new magical being in his life: Stephano and his bottle of liquor. Soon, Caliban begs to show Stephano the island and even asks to lick his shoe. Caliban repeats the mistakes he claims to curse. In his final act of rebellion, he is once more entirely subdued by Prospero in the most petty way—he is dunked in a stinking bog and ordered to clean up Prospero’s cell in preparation for dinner. Despite his savage demeanor and grotesque appearance, however, Caliban has a nobler, more sensitive side that the audience is only allowed to glimpse briefly, and which Prospero and Miranda do not acknowledge at all.

His beautiful speeches about his island home provide some of the most affecting imagery in the play, reminding the audience that Caliban really did occupy the island before Prospero came, and that he may be right in thinking his enslavement to be monstrously unjust. Caliban’s swarthy appearance, his forced servitude, and his native status on the island have led many readers to interpret him as a symbol of the native cultures occupied and suppressed by European colonial societies, which are represented by the power of Prospero. Whether or not one accepts this allegory, Caliban remains one of the most intriguing and ambiguous minor characters in all of Shakespeare, a sensitive monster who allows himself to be transformed into a fool. More Help Character List Character List Bookmark this page Manage My Reading List Prospero The rightful duke of Milan. After his brother, Antonio, seized his title and property, Prospero was exiled with his daughter and eventually found refuge on an island. Miranda Prospero's daughter. She has been on the island with her father for 12 years — since she was 3 years old. Antonio Prospero's younger brother, who is now the duke of Milan.

He had plotted against Prospero years earlier and now convinces Sebastian to murder his brother, the king of Naples. Ariel A spirit of the air, he assists Prospero in seeking retribution over his enemies. Caliban The offspring of the witch Sycorax and the devil. Prospero has made Caliban his servant or slave, and in response, Caliban plots to murder Prospero. Ferdinand The son of the king of Naples. During the storm, he was separated from the rest of the king's party, met Miranda, and fell in love with her. Alonso The king of Naples. He believes his son has died and is overjoyed to later find him. Alonso is repentant for the pain he caused Prospero in the past. Sebastian Alonso's brother. He is easily led into planning his own brother's (the king's) murder. Gonzalo An elderly counselor who saves Prospero's and Miranda's lives when they are exiled. He provides a sense of hope and optimism when Ferdinand is lost. Stefano The king's butler. He arrives on the island drunk and quickly becomes involved in a plot to murder Prospero. Trinculo The king's jester.

When Stefano arrives with wine, Trinculo joins him in drinking and then agrees to a plot to murder Prospero. Francisco and Adrian Two of the king's lords. They try to offer hope and protection to Alonso. Boatswain The ship's petty officer. He is in charge of the deck crew, the rigging, and the anchor. He must try to keep the boat afloat during the storm, even when the king's party makes demands upon his time.

Question: Who is the daughter of Prospero in The Tempest?
Answer: MIRANDA